Guns Save Lives is not supported by ads and is ran as an independent project. If you support this project please consider supporting us on Patreon. Registration takes just a moment and even $1 is a massive help in continuing our work. Thank you so much.

Well, that certainly didn’t take long. It looks California lawmakers have already drafted a knee jerk reaction in response to the Isla Vista killing spree.

The new firearms bill would create a “gun violence restraining order,” using the same process employed for restraining orders in cases of domestic violence.

If notified by a subject’s family or friends that someone could harm himself or others, law enforcement officers would be able to petition a judge to grant a restraining order that could prohibit possession or purchase of a gun.

Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) said last weekend’s Isla Vista rampage illustrated gaps in the state’s gun and mental health laws. The family of Elliot Rodger, the shooter, had raised concerns with law enforcement about his mental state, and Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies visited Rodger at his apartment in April but took no action against him.

“Here we had a situation where a mother was aware that her son was a danger to himself and others. She tried to intervene,” Skinner said.

Sam Paredes, executive director of the Gun Owners of California, called the proposal (AB 1014) offered by multiple lawmakers including Skinner, a “knee-jerk reaction.”

Of course, there are numerous problems here. First off, under this bill, couldn’t anyone have anyone else disarmed simply by telling law enforcement that the person in question might be a harm to themselves or others?

Also, as far as the purchasing requirement, how will that be tied into the background check process? Also, how would that have prevented this case, where the killer bought his guns over a year before using them in a crime.

Finally, I can’t help but notice that this bill targets guns despite the fact that half of the people killed in the Isla Vista killing spree were stabbed to death.